Football Betting Odds – Panthers Up For “Dress Rehearsal” Against Chiefs
By Charles Jay
The Carolina Panthers did not leave a lot of room for people to be impressed after their pre-season opener. They fully intend to have a much better result as they line up against the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday night football betting action that is set to begin at 8 PM ET at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Both of these squads overcame low expectations as they made the playoffs last season. The Panthers were the champions of the NFC South, while the Chiefs, who won their first nine games of the 2013 season, lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC wild card round.
Last week the Chiefs were involved in a real donnybrook with the Cincinnati Bengals, winning a 41-39 decision. The game between the Panthers and the Buffalo Bills was less eventful, and resulted in a 20-18 Carolina loss.
In the football betting odds that have been placed on this game by the folks at VietBet, the Panthers are the home favorites:
Carolina Panthers -3 (-125)
Kansas City Chiefs +3 (+105)
Over 40.5 Points -110
Under 40.5 Points -110
It seems that Carolina coach Ron Rivera is taking an unusual approach to this game because he is telling people this is the “dress rehearsal” for his squad. That generally does not happen until the next-to-last pre-season game. he explains that the starters will play up to 40 plays, which takes them into the third quarter. Some of the players who did not appear against the Bills will certainly play in this one, and that includes quarterback Cam Newton (who is coming off ankle surgery), along with running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. This dynamic is something football bettors need to be keenly aware of.
The Chiefs (+2000 to win the AFC in the NFl odds at VietBet) may have had 41 points in last week’s game at Arrowhead, but it wasn’t all about the offense. De’Anthony Thomas had an 80-yard punt return, and Sean Smith brought back an interception sixteen seconds later for another score, but that doesn’t mean some of the Chiefs’ skill players didn’t do some good work. Chase Daniel, who is a very capable backup, completed eight of his ten passes for 126 yards but also suffered three sacks. Running back Cyrus Gray, who is looked upon as somebody who can offer Jamaal Charles some real support, had 55 yards on the ground.
Alex Smith was not one of those players who showed all that much for the Chiefs. But the message has come down that the team wants him to go after the big play a little more. Smith has been a safety-first quarterback over the past few years, beginning with San Francisco and then coming over to the Chiefs. It certainly was a philosophy of Andy Reid to keep the turnovers down, and from that standpoint, Smith has really fit the bill. But you have to be able to stretch defenses every so often, and so the questions persist among football bettors as to whether Smith will really be able to do that.
A quick mention should be made about Dwayne Bowe and the one-game suspension he received from the NFL. That discipline will not prevent him from participating in practices or pre-season games. But the Chiefs need to find some other people who can be on the other end of those passes from Smith.